He is quoted by the paper as saying: "There is a great desire in the Westminster media world to write off 'local yokel stations'. If New York can manage six local TV stations the idea that London cannot sustain one is bonkers, despite the desire of competitors to rubbish it."

That was a specific reference to London Live, the channel launched by the publisher of the London Evening Standard and The Independent, Evgeny Lebedev.

I'm not certain what Hunt means by "competitors", however. London Live is one of four English launches so far. The others are in Norwich (Mustard TV), Nottingham (Notts TV) and Grimsby (Estuary TV).

The FT article states that the channels have been "dogged by low viewing figures" and "have struggled to attract viewers."

It also mentions that London Live "has recorded audience figures in the low thousands for some of its flagship programmes" by citing viewing figures recorded by the official ratings monitor, Barb (see here).

In reaffirming his faith in his project, Hunt is quoted in the FT as saying: "All these local TV stations will be a success." But he conceded: "There will be some that go bust; that is the nature of things."